Over 100 Starr’s Mill High School students will get to enjoy Savannah for a few days in January.

The Starr’s Mill High School Wind Ensemble and Chanticleer, the school’s mixed chorus, have been selected to perform at this year’s Georgia Music Educator’s Association meeting next year, and band director Scott King and choral director Dr. John Odom are ecstatic about their students being selected for this honor.

“I can’t remember a school having two groups be selected to perform at this event in the same year,” said Odom, who was a member of the selection committee for GMEA in the past.

Each year, bands, orchestras and choruses from high schools all over Georgia submit recordings of their best performances to the GMEA selection committee. Judges listen to the recordings without knowing what school the group they are listening to is from and then select their best three or four groups in each category. Both the Starr’s Mill Wind Ensemble and Chanticleer submitted recordings from spring festivals from last year and Chanticleer added a performance from Spivey Hall to their submission. The two directors were told about their acceptance to perform earlier this school year and the groups have been preparing ever since.

“This is the biggest honor in the state,” Odom stated. “We will be performing for close to 600 music educators, our peers and some really tough critics, and serving as an example of model groups.”

Both the wind ensemble and Chanticleer plan on doing some surprising things at the conference, including premiering new works and performing several pieces together. Chanticleer will be performing a new mass at the conference written by composer James Mulholland and the wind ensemble will perform a piece written by composer Dana Wilson and rarely performed by a high school band.

The band will be adding a performance at a conference at the University of Georgia a week before GMEA and a performance at the Bands of America National Concert Festival in Indiana in March to their busy schedule. The chorus will be performing at Epcot Center at Disney World in November and will also perform with Tara Winds in December. Preparing for a year like this takes a lot of work, especially when one factors in marching band duties, fall and holiday concerts, and auditions for all-state band and chorus and the Governor’s Honor Program band and chorus.

“We’re not doing our jobs if we don’t get these kids as much experience as possible,” said Odom, who heaped praise on the talent level of the students in the band and choral programs at the school. King added that the programs benefit from a superior middle school program that prepares the students to perform at such a high level.

Only music educators are allowed to attend GMEA but the public will be able to get to see the performances at a concert at the school Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. After the conference wraps up, the two programs will start the audition process all over again and hope that they will be honored with invitations again.

login to post comments